Moment Junkie forgos the gauzy details of flowers, shoes, decor, and portraits to serve up a daily stream of emotional, humerous, memorable and otherwise remarkable photos of unscripted instants from real weddings—providing a counterpoint to the genre of photography purveyed by most wedding blogs.

For me nothing is more gratifying than artfully capturing these fleeting moments because they often become the images my couples cherish most.

Chris got his first glimpse at Nikki in the lobby, while friends and family looked on.

Then we were off to the harbor for a round of pre-ceremony photos.

Can I just say that I love the Exchange Conference Center? Few venues evoke Boston’s history as a fishing port like the ECC. It commands the end of the city’s still-working Fish Pier and provides a fantastic panorama of the harbor.

The wedding party and families gathered upstairs to witness the Ketubah ceremony, followed immediately by the main event.

After the ceremony, the Exchange Hall was quickly transformed for the elegant reception with tables featuring towering floral centerpieces and colorful orchids floating in water.

From their first dance, to the hora, through the evening’s waning moments, the fun and excitement of their wedding was evident on Chris and Nikki’s faces.

Congratulations again Nikki and Chris!

The wedding itself was held on the grounds of the Beech Hill Farm and Bison Ranch in North Waterford, which is run by Erin’s mother and stepfather. In the farm house, Erin’s sister applied her makeup and all of Erin’s bridesmaids helped when it came time to step into the dress.

The ceremony was held on a gently sloping field surrounded by trees with mountains in the distance. Erin’s father walked her down the aisle and her mother performed the wedding ceremony.

After the ceremony we wandered around the farm to take a few portraits and then joined the guests in the reception tent below the garden.

The day turned into a gorgeous summer evening and their celebration continued into the night.

Congratulations again, Erin and Ed!

As is often the case, I wasn’t the only photographer in the room.

The gals all left and Joe arrived for a private moment where he and Judy saw each other for the first time on their wedding day.

We wandered around and shot some casual portraits that showed off Copley Square.

Judy and Joe still had a few minutes before they had to leave for the wedding, so they took a breather in the Oak Room at the the Copley.

Soon it was off to Mistral Restaurant for their wedding.

Friends and family gathered snugly around the huppah for an intimate ceremony.

Dinner was punctuated by a number of  truly genuine and occasionally very funny toasts.

No matter how small the the room your wedding is being held in, there is always space for a horah!

Congratulations again, Judy and Joe!

Another reason this wedding feels special to me is that my good friend Maine wedding photographer Andree Kehn actually has been friends with Kavi since high school. Andree was a guest at the wedding but she also lifted her camera to grab shots of the wedding day. These first two portraits are ones that Andree shot near the couple’s house that morning.

I met up with the Arielle and Kavi at the restaurant and we took a few quick portraits before the guests arrived.

The Renaissance flair of Arielle’s dress and shoes highlighted her deep connection with Italy.

Grace Restaurant in Portland is a converted church and an incredibly unique space. Every nook in the restaurant is adorned with stained glass, and elegant woodwork.

Branches were a major visual theme a the wedding. The processional was led and ended with people carrying branches and Arielle and Kavi were married in front of a forked birch tree. Even the floral arrangements incorporated the branch theme.

It was cocktails before the ceremony as the both levels of the restaurant filled with the couple’s friends and family .

Kavi’s brothers musically heralded Arielle and Kavi’s entrance, and the ceremony began.

When you have a lot of different religious traditions in your family history, you can pick and choose elements from any of them for your wedding. Hello Hora!

Arielle and Kavi love living in Portland because of all the great food, and so it’s no surprise that food was a big part of their night. There was chef’s station where a seemingly infinite variety of pasta dishes were made. Almost every other dish was made fresh in Grace’s open kitchen throughout the entire night and passed hors d’œuvre style.

And the dessert cupcakes by Two Fat Cats Bakery were an unqualified hit wit the guests.

After the evening’s rituals were over, DJ Dave Ragsdale got people moving.

Congratulations again, Arielle & Kavi!

Below is my winning image from the First Dance Category. I just love when I’m in the right place to capture moments like this one:

And here is my winning image from the Venue or Location Category. Nothing like a dramatic sky to spice up a photo:

Congratulations as well to all the other winners as well. I’m honored to be recognized alongside your incredible images.

Did you know that the current popularity of the white wedding dress is due in part to the power of photography? True! In 1840, Queen Victoria wore a white gown at her wedding to incorporate some lace she owned. Her wedding photograph was widely published and brides have been emulating her color choice ever since. Prior to the Victorian era, a bride might wear any color except black (the color of mourning) or red (which suggested ill-repute). Serendipitously, there’s a recent post on historical and current wedding dress colors at a blog I follow, COLORlovers.

Many thanks to the modern and fashionable Renaissance Providence Hotel for letting us run around their marbled halls. Last year, my wife and I did a staycation at the Renaissance and we fell in love with its funky rooms, friendly staff and Temple Downtown, the chic restaurant and lounge located downstairs.

The amazing and colorful dresses you see below are the creation on Framingham dress designer Julia Anne Ebel, of Celtic Dragon Dress Designs. We asked her to create dresses inspired by a winter color palette, and wow, did she deliver! Stay tuned for Julia’s new couture wedding dress site which is coming soon.

The models’ dramatic makeup was provided by makeup artist, Jenny DiMucci, who I’ve worked with on an earlier ShootStyle outing.

And huge thank you to Brittany and Kate, our gorgeous models.  I’m always on the geeky side of the lens, but I’ve got to imagine it’s hard to have a half dozen photographers simultaneously vying for your attention, yet Brittany and Kate handled the day with poise and aplomb!

Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot: